Vehicles are often equipped with racks, mounts, or trailers to allow the operator to transport cargo on the roof of the vehicle or tow cargo behind the vehicle. The cargo often extends the vertical height of the vehicle, increasing the risk for collision between the cargo and low clearance objects, such as overhangs or garage doors for example. Such collisions may result in loss of life and property damage to the drivers as well as an economic burden to governmental entities and business to inspect or repair damage from incidents.
There have been several proposed solutions to mitigate the risk of vehicle collisions with low clearance structures. For example, a reminder device has been proposed, such as a tag hanging from the vehicle's rear view mirror. However, such a reminder device only reminds the user that cargo is on the roof and not to forget, but does not make specific reference to any particular clearance height constraints.
Further, an electronic system involving vehicle proximity to a known low clearance location has been proposed. These systems include a global positioning system configured to compare relative proximity to location of a structure with a known low clearance and the vehicle. However, the warning is based on proximity to any low clearance, and not tailored to the current vehicle height. Additionally, such systems are not configured to monitor in real-time unknown or unrecorded low clearance structures and alert the user accordingly. Accordingly, there is a need for a system to detect an approaching overhead structure and alert the user of a potential collision in response to the entered vehicle height, predefined low clearance structures, and real-time detection of such structures.